People use wheelchairs because they have difficulty walking. However, the wheelchair user must somehow get into and out of the wheelchair when necessary. Many users have enough mobility to be able to stand up or lift themselves off the wheelchair. Others need assistance.
Most wheelchairs are equipped with a pair of footrests having footplates to support the feet and legs of the user when in the wheelchair. Even though the footplates are typically designed to pivot up to a retracted position and the footrests can often be pivoted out of the way, the footrests and footplates make it difficult to get in and out of the wheelchair. The footplates are difficult to reach and therefore move out of the way. As a result, wheelchair users are often not able to stand up or lift themselves off the wheelchair without assistance because they are not able to raise or lower the footplates by themselves. The footplates are also difficult for caregivers to reach because they must bend over almost to the floor to reach them.
A common design for a wheelchair footrest includes a “swing away” mechanism. That is, the footrest is attached to the wheelchair by means of a bracket with support pins that allow the entire footrest to rotate outwardly from the wheelchair. While the footplate will move out of the way of the user if the footrest is swung away, the design is unsatisfactory. The bracket release lever for the footrest is typically located at a point below the knee of the user, making it difficult for the user or a caregiver to reach. In addition, this design makes the effective footprint of the wheelchair very wide. Thus, it does not work well in the confines of a public restroom and gets in the way of a caregiver trying to assist the user.